May 2018

When trying to attract top talent, the vacant position must stand out amongst the clutter of other eligible opportunities. Establishing a talent recruitment campaign allows both employers and employees to actively align goals and interests in a cultivating way.

Setting clear and measurable goals can be a great start when creating any recruitment campaign. Asking questions like “How many people do we want this to reach?” or “By what margin do we want to increase our overall audience?” allows for quantifiable marks to be set and evaluated throughout the process. When objectives and the end goal is understood, it determines the success built before and achieved after recruitment.

Determining the audience should be the second part of the campaign. It is important to develop a unique communicative platform through company culture videos, social media promotions, evaluating and reviewing glass door reviews and provide community-related blog posts. This will allow prospective candidates to evaluate the value proposition of the company and be the center of any talent recruitment practice.

While those platforms should exhibit the culture, they should also integrate a call to action. A call to action clearly separates the recruiting pool from those that are curious and those that are serious. It should be visible on all facets of communication with potential employees and should be direct and explanatory – providing further insight or action to those that interact.

Talent campaigns are meant to be unique to the position or organization. While every business may be using the same platform to get their message across, influencing those platforms to align with the goals that were initially established will provide recruits with an understanding of what the company has to offer and how they will be part of the success, and significant contributions to the future of the organization.

When trying to recruit a new candidate, it is essential to have a plan set in place to effectively and efficiently fill the position.

To begin, define the position. While this sounds like a simple task, it is the most important as it identifies the needed skills and interests of the candidate pool. A needs assessment should be completed to understand the extent of what this position will be intended for. While some believe this is only done for a new position, existing roles should be assessed in the same manner to avoid complacency and focus on the betterment and continual growth of the organization.

The next step should be to write and post the job opening. While writing the job description, include the skills and expectations for the role that was discovered when defining what the position was. This description should go deeper than just recruitment. It should be an evaluative measure of potential candidates, a tool for managers to set expectations and a continuous performance review standard. When posting the job description, ensure the platform used correctly markets the type of company that is asking for hirees.

This leads to the development of the recruitment plan and how recruitment of a potential hire pool should be handled. First, informing internal members of the team should occur. This allows for interested candidates who are already privy to the company and possibly the open position to apply if interested. Current employees are also a great source for referrals either internally or externally. Next, the position should be distributed within your network. The message can be spread to individuals who are interested in making a transition, may know someone interested or can help disseminate the opening to their network as well. Finally, the job opening should be shared externally. It is most affordable and effective to post online but don’t be afraid to reach out to colleagues who have had similar openings to see how they found success.

The final step to recruiting candidates is the screening process. This process is a way to assess each candidate using a set group of criteria identified when defining the position. Resume screening is a great way to see if a candidate has what the job needs on paper. To follow-up with the resume, interviews can either be conducted in person or through the phone or video chat. When using these methods, plan questions in advance that allow for candidates to identify the competencies that are needed for the job.

Once the position is filled or a candidate has been identified for hire, it is important to follow-up with those that were interviewed either through a letter, email, or a phone call. Remember, not all recruitment processes are ‘one size fits all,’ do what works best for your organization and the position you are trying to fill.